JPL Genealogy Festival

The East Bank Regional Library will host its annual Genealogy Fair from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28, at EBR, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie. This event is free of charge and open to the public. 

Michelle Bell Boissiere, PhD, associate professor of biology, Xavier University, and Jari Honora, Family Historian in the Williams Research Center of the Historic New Orleans Collection, will speak at the fair.

9:30 a.m. - Michelle Bell Boissiere, PhD – An Introduction to Genetics for Genealogists

In this presentation, genealogists will learn basic genetics concepts to provide them with a better understanding of consumer genetic testing such as 23andMe and AncestryDNA (among others). Dr. Boissiere will provide an overview of her family history with a look at the questions answered and raised by adding the genetic analysis.

Michelle Bell Boissiere holds degrees in Biology from Xavier University of Louisiana (B.S.), and from Tulane University (M.S. and Ph.D.). Her dissertation research focused on the function of human sperm membranes. Dr. Boissiere has been a faculty member at Xavier University since 1994. Her primary teaching responsibility centers on Genetics. 

For six years (1995-2001), Dr. Boissiere served as the Director of BIOSTAR, a summer enrichment program for high school students who are preparing to take their first biology course. She has served as editor and contributor for several biology and genetics textbooks published by Pearson and McGraw-Hill. From 2001-2003 she served as the inaugural director of Xavier’s Center for Undergraduate Research, and as chair of the Biology Department from (2004 – 2006). Dr. Boissiere was elected to serve as Biology Department Head in March 2020, and continues to serve in that capacity. 

11 a.m. – Jari Honora – Questions of Identity and Relationship in the Ancestry of Pope Leo XIV 

On May 8, 2025, the world was surprised by the rapid election of Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost, an American, as the 267th Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Soon after, it was uncovered that the 69-year-old Chicago native had deep maternal roots in New Orleans dating back to the 1720s. His New Orleans roots include ties to France, Guadeloupe, Cuba, Prague, Italy, Acadie, and colonial Saint-Domingue; and ancestors who were colonial officials, free people of color, and enslaved people. As with any genealogical adventure, defining and attempting to solve questions of identity and relationship helped to extend the lines of his family tree.

Jari C. Honora, a Certified Genealogist®, is a New Orleans native and proud Louisiana Creole with roots dating back more than two centuries along Bayou Lafourche and the German-Acadian Coast. He is a graduate of St. Augustine High School and Tulane University. He works as Family Historian at the Williams Research Center of the Historic New Orleans Collection. He also does historical and genealogical research professionally, including for the TV programs "Finding Your Roots" and "We’ll Meet Again." He is a trustee of the Board for Certification of Genealogists and a board member of the Louisiana Historical Society and Genealogical Research Society of New Orleans. 

The fair will feature display tables staffed by various genealogical organizations, including the Genealogical Research Society of New Orleans, the Jefferson Genealogy Society, Williams Research Center of the Historic New Orleans Collection, City Archives and Special Collections of the New Orleans Public Library, St. Tammany Public Library, St. Tammany Parish Genealogical Society, Algiers Historical Society, CreoleGen, German Acadian Coast Historical and Genealogical Society, The Descendants Project, Le Comite des Archives de la Louisiane, Midlo Center for New Orleans Studies, Plaquemines Historical Association, River Road African American Museum, .

Also, many lineage groups will be present, including various chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution.